Negative Status Effects
in Dark Souls are effects on characters' and enemies' performance, largely but not solely detrimental in nature. Negative status effects are usually "built up" by attacks that inflict that effect, with a bar appearing when the player is receiving buildup of the effect. When the bar fills, the effect triggers, and the bar empties at a rate dependent on the individual effect, usually ignoring any further buildup until it has emptied. Resistances to status effects generally work by lengthening the bar, thus requiring more buildup to trigger the effect. Preventing negative status effects Most negative status effects can be prevented by wearing equipment that boosts resistance to these effects. For example, the Tattered Cloth Set has a high resistance to poison, while the Bloodshield significantly boosts all the resistances. Oswald of Carim sells the Bloodbite Ring and the Poisonbite Ring; rings that greatly increase bleed and poison resistance, respectively. Items with poison resist are also toxin resistant, with the exception of the Poisonbite Ring. Effects Bleed Bleed is a status effect that builds up after successive attacks from specific enemies' weapons. Once the bleed meter is full, it will deal damage based on a percentage of the victim's health. Taking too many bleed effects can become fatal very quickly. Bleed build-up can be stopped through use of Bloodred Moss Clumps or with the sorcery Remedy. Bleed damage can be avoided by rolling the moment when the bleed meter fills. Poison Poison deals low damage over time at a rate usually more annoying than dangerous. Poison is extremely common in the lower reaches of Blighttown, which is covered largely by a poisonous swamp. Poison can be cured with Purple Moss Clump, Blooming Purple Moss Clump, Divine Blessing or the Remedy sorcery. With the sole exception of the Poisonbite Ring, resistance to Poison is also resistance to Toxic. Toxic Toxic is a much more powerful variation of Poison, damaging the player over time at a rapid pace. The most notable enemies with Toxic attacks are the non-respawning Blowdart Snipers found in upper Blighttown. Toxic must be cured with Blooming Purple Moss Clump (not normal Purple Moss Clump), Divine Blessing or with the Remedy sorcery. With the sole exception of the Poisonbite Ring, resistance to Poison is also resistance to Toxic. Curse Once inflicted, Curse immediately kills the player character and adds a Curse stack to their next life, halving their maximum HP until removed. Curse can be removed with Purging Stones or by talking to Ingward (New Londo Ruins, or Firelink Shrine after talking to him when the Four Kings are defeated). Common sources of Curse include Basilisks and Seath's breath. Cursed player characters can damage the Ghosts and Banshees in New Londo Ruins without using Transient Curses. Characters who die to Curse will spawn statues in other players' worlds as a warning. Previously, Curse could stack. This would continuously halve a character's maximum HP with each successive Curse, with two stacks reducing it to 1/4, three to 1/8, etc. This has since been patched. Egghead The Egghead status effect is inflicted by the Egg Burdened. If they are able to grab the player character, a Vile Maggot will pop out of an egg and latch onto the character's head. Another way to acquire this effect is by making contact with a Maggot's Spray attack a few times. In a short while the status effect will become apparent when the character scratches their head while standing still. Eggheads cannot wear a helmet and will become less resistant to fire. The amount of souls gained is split 50/50 between the player character and the Egg. Once player loses 100,000 souls to the Egg, it will grow and replace the kick with a Vile Maggot attack, which causes small damage and heavy knock back. The only means of a cure is to consume an Egg Vermifuge. Slime The "Slime" status effect is inflicted by the Mass of Souls minibosses found in New Londo Ruins, when they attack by regurgitating a grey sludge onto the character. If it hits, the victim will appear coated in gunk from head to toe, greatly reducing maneuverability, while draining health over time. The Estus Flask's power is also weakened. Nevertheless, its duration lasts for a relatively short time. Category:Dark Souls: Gameplay Mechanics Category:Dark Souls: Gameplay